


Bright

by LokiSquirrel



Category: Original Work
Genre: Character Death, Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-10-01 23:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20435912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokiSquirrel/pseuds/LokiSquirrel
Summary: A secret species has existed in the world since it's beginning. They are dying from a mysterious event and no one knows why. Lillianne finds out that she is connected these Sirens in a way she never expected. She has to change the way that she looks at the world and herself. Can she survive two warring factions, an unstoppable killer, a mystery, and the realization of what she is becoming? Especially when seemingly everyone has their own agenda.





	1. First

The school bus rushed down a gravel road and screeched to a stop with a spray of dirt. A brown haired girl called Lillianne hopped down the bus stairs and headed towards an aging house. The blue paint was beginning to peel away from the structure, showing evidence of its age. Her brown eyes were tired from a long final day of her senior year of high school. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was happy to be done with her high school career, but she didn’t know what to do next. She felt cut off from everyone, like she hadn’t fit in during her entire schooling; and with no friends to speak of and no prospects ahead of her, she was at a stand still.   
“Lillianne!” The sound seemed to burst from the window of the house, jerking Lillianne from her thoughts. She leapt up the steps of the front porch and through the front door.  
“Hello, auntie!” she chirped.   
“Lillianne,” a stern looking blonde woman began, turning towards Lillianne to speak. . “How was your last day?” Her green eyes crinkled at the edges as she smiled.  
“It was fine.” Lillianne paused to consider how her aunt would react to her internal dilemma. She didn’t want to worry her auntie, but who else was she supposed to talk to?  
“Lillianne,” her aunt reached forward and placed one of her hands on Lillianne’s shoulder. The corners of her mouth turned up in a comforting smile, while her other hand stretched towards Lillianne invitingly.   
“I don’t know what to do next!” The comment seemed to burst free from Lillianne’s mouth without her permission. “I don’t know what I want to do with my life.”  
Her aunt’s eyes crinkled with concern at Lillianne’s outburst. “Honey, why didn’t you say something?” Auntie’s voice was coated with the same concern that shone from her eyes..   
“I don’t...I didn’t…” Lillianne started. “I didn’t want to worry you.” Her eyes burned as she hung her head.   
Her auntie leaned down to peek under Lillianne’s hair, which had formed a curtain around her face. “You can talk to me. I just want you to be happy and healthy.”  
“I know.” Lillianne clenched her fists. “I just don’t want to be a disappointment. I already have had such a difficult time at school…They’ve called you more than once…” Lillianne trailed off. Her auntie had come to pick her up on more than one occasion when she was picked on or beat up.   
“It’s not your fault.” her auntie said, her tone resolute and leaving no room for argument. Lillianne turned away and crossed her arms over her chest, which pulled her Auntie’s hand off of her shoulder. Lillianne had heard it before. Her auntie had told her repeatedly that it wasn’t her fault. It was how she was born. She tried to understand what her auntie had said over and over again; but it was hard to be an outcast for something that she couldn’t control.   
“I’m just going to take a nap,” she forced herself to say.   
“Lillianne,” her auntie said softly. “I-” she seemed to begin to say something, but thought better of it. “I love you. Rest well.”  
“I love you too, auntie.” Lillianne murmured softly, her voice barely managing to escape from her mouth.  
She trudged up the stairs, her backpack bouncing up the steps behind her. Lillianne pushed her door open with her hip and threw her bag into her bedroom, where is landed on the floor haphazardly. Impressively, nothing managed to spill out of the barely closed zipper. She kicked off her heels and went to her dresser to pull out a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt portraying a funny little cat on it and chucked them on her bed. She pulled off her maroon dress and lace tights, barely managing not to rip them in her frustration, and put on the shorts and t-shirt. Lillianne then grabbed a large plush dog and slumped down into the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers. She hadn’t really planned on sleeping anyway. She just needed to get away from the conversation. She knew that it wasn’t healthy and that she’d have to face it eventually, but she just couldn’t. Not today, when she was already upset and worked up. There was tomorrow. She’d talk to her auntie and figure things out then. Her thoughts began to drift, her eyes slipped close as she slipped into slumber.  
Lillianne awoke to a strange feeling. She rose from her bed and looked around, blearily opening her eyes. The world looked hazy, as if there was a fire in the next room over and the heat was pressing against the walls of her bedroom. There was an intense ringing sound in her ears, and she brought her hands up, pressing them tightly to the side of her head and launching herself out of her bed. Lillianne squinted and stumbled towards her doorway. She stalled for a moment, feeling as if she had forgotten something. My scrapbook, she thought, a little dazed. She needed to grab it. She was confused but she knew she needed it. Lillianne darted towards her bookshelf and collapsed to her knees when her head began to swim. With shaking hands she pulled the blue scrapbook from the bottom shelf and pulled herself up using her dresser as support. She hugged the book to her chest, wrapping both arms around it protectively. Lillianne then stumbled down the stairs, unsteady on her feet.  
“Auntie!” She called out. No reply. “Auntie!” She called again, more panicked. Her aunt peeked out of the kitchen doorway.  
“Lillianne?” She questioned, her eyebrows drawn together. “What’s wrong?”  
“We have to leave!” Panic rose in her voice. Lillianne moved forward to grab her aunt by the arm but Auntie leapt back, alarmed.  
“Lillianne? What is going on?” Her Auntie’s voice sounded strained. A creeping brightness started to seep into the walls of the kitchen. Lillianne backed up and an involuntary shriek crawled into her throat, coming from deep within her gut. Dread was building in her for reasons she couldn’t place. Her aunt turned around and in an instant there was something like recognition on her face. She turned to Lillianne, horror etched into her eyes. Her auntie seemed frozen. The whiteness was close now, taking over everything it touched.   
“Auntie?” Lillianne questioned.   
“RUN!” her auntie’s response seemed to be fueled from pure desperation and she began to move forward, but it was too late. Her skin was going white, the brightness bleaching her skin, almost like it was consuming her.. Lillianne felt like stone, immobile and stiff. Suddenly there was a flash of bright light and blonde hair and blood flew through the air onto Lillianne’s face. Part of her auntie’s scalp thudded to the floor, her silky blonde hair soaking up blood. Lillianne’s vision narrowed, fading to black at the edges as her legs wobbled dangerously underneath her. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and the whole world turned dark as she passed out.


	2. Hope is a Joke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where to next?

Lillianne felt as if she was floating, a cloudiness engulfing her mind that she knew was unnatural. A voice broke through the fog, unfamiliar and almost frantic, but not quite. Like the person calling her knew how they were supposed to feel but didn’t have it quite right. “Hey!” There was a dull ache in her side. “Hey, you!” She tried to open her eyes but everything seemed so bright. Her ears were ringing and her face burned. But the voice was insistent and even as she tried desperately to keep her eyes closed the voice grew louder. “I know you can hear me!” Finally she opened her eyes squinting in the light. Above her was a slim Asian man with black hair and light blue eyes with nearly white irises which made the darkness of his pupils stand out even more than they normally would have. The look on his soft round face was pained and uncomfortable. “Were you here when this happened?” His voice was panicked with a tinge of excitement, his eyes were bright and wide.

Lillian struggled to find her voice. What happened? Who was this man? She couldn't come to grips with what had actually happened. Her mind was fuzzy and delirious. There's no way that what she thought happened had actually happened. She looked down at her hands. They were covered in blood and blond hair. Oh god, she thought a bit numbly. Her Auntie was dead. The blood, flesh, and hair on the floor around her made that very clear. She put her head in her shaking hands and let out a high pained noise, struggling to hold back tears. The man put his hands up an alarm and then seemingly in the moment of compassion stuck one hand on her shoulder and asked her “Are you alright?”

“No!” She yelled jumping to her feet causing the man to fall back. “How could I be all right?! I just saw my aunt die. I don't even know what's happening. What even did this!” She felt lost and out of her mind with anger and grief. Why? She thought desperately. How could this happen? She wanted to scream but was shaking so badly she thought she might pass out.

“Hey, now.” Murmured the man softly, breaking through her thoughts. “Why don't we just sit down and talk about this. Maybe I can help.” His arms were stretched out and open towards her.

Lillianne turned to him in a rage. “Help?!, Can you bring people back from the dead?! How are you going to help?! My life is ruined my Auntie is dead I have nothing!!” She wanted to blame somebody, anybody for what had happened to her. And this mysterious man who appeared in front of her was the only one there to take her rage. It was selfish but she was lost, hurt, and in pain. She expected him to be angry to yell back at her but he didn't. She could see in his wide eyes a wetness and raised eyebrows that he felt for her.

“No I cannot bring people back from the dead but I can listen to what you have to say and maybe I can relate too.” Lillianne collapsed to the ground and once again began to cry in earnest. Gasping noises bursting from her throat. The man put his arms around her and held her for some time until she felt she could cry no more.

She sniffled and took a closer look at the man who would walk in possibly the most horrific day of her life. He was objectively beautiful and had softness in his eyes but there's something off about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. A wrongness that she had felt before. The image of her aunt came to mind. Until she had gotten used to it her Auntie had always seemed a bit off. She didn’t know why but she wasn’t the only one who thought that. Her former classmates had said things about her Auntie more than once. About her as well but she thought they were just cruel to her.

“Are you related to my aunt?” she murmured.

“Oh well I imagine not. What I mean to say is that I don't really have any living relatives.” he ran his fingers through his hair.

“You remind me of her for some reason.” Lillianne felt numb.

He smiled brightly at her. “I'm Yuki by the way. May I have the pleasure of knowing what your name is?”

“I'm Lillianne. Why are you here? Do you know what happened?” For the first time she looked up and saw that seemingly half the house was stark white. Her lip was quivering as she looked at the craggly line right before where she sat. That whiteness had taken her Auntie but stopped right before her.

“I’m a private investigator. I've been traveling all over the world looking at situations just like this one, trying to figure out what has been going on.”

“So then what do you know?” Yuki looked sad then, he turned his head away from her slightly.

“Almost nothing.”

“Nothing?” She repeated, dumbfounded.

“Well yes. There doesn't seem to be almost any similarities between every case. ” Lillanne frowned, How could he know nothing? Yuki sighed, “I know what you're thinking. I wish I knew more as well but in all of the cases I've seen there's almost nothing in common.” Lillanne brushed her hair out of her face and when she pulled her hand back she saw the brain matter. Her Auntie's brain matter. Abruptly she felt the blood drain from her face and bile rise up in her throat. She stumbled up from the ground and ran towards the door not wanting to throw up inside the house. She heard Yuki let out a shout of surprise. Lillanne crashed into another person who let out an oof sound and nearly toppled over. She tried to steady at Lillanne but Lillanne pushed her out of the way and rushed down the few steps of the porch and swung herself towards the bushes and began to vomit. Tears streamed from her eyes and she hacked up bile. Yuki had dashed down the steps on her heels and was now laying a comforting hand on her back.

“Ah, geez” the woman that Lillanne had nearly taken out muttered, obviously disgusted. Yuki turned and glared at her.

“Be nice Molnia.” She snorted and turned to look out into the fields beyond the house.

“What are you planning to do with her?” her voice betrayed no emotion. Yuki said nothing and continued to rub Lilianne’s back. Finally, Lillianne could throw up no more. She stumbled back and turned towards the dirty blond haired woman that she had pushed past before. Her face was angliar and pale. Molnia stared right back at her unblinking till Lillianne turned away. Molnia’s piercing bright blue eyes too much for her to handle.

Yuki sighed suddenly. “We need to know everything that happened. I know it’s hard but it could help us.”

Lillianne hugged herself. “There isn’t much to say, anyway. My Aunt was just standing in the kitchen. Then a light swallowed her up. Then you were here. That is all there is.”

Yuki visibly deflated. “What led up to it? Anything out of the ordinary happen?”

“No, I just had gotten home from school, I talked to my Auntie, and I went upstairs. I got a weird feeling that I should leave, so I grabbed my scrapbook-” she stopped short. “My scrapbook!” She darted into the house searching frantically.

“Wait!” Yuki was right behind her. His voice was high and tense. Lilliane had found the book quickly and it seemed, besides the blood splattering it’s cover, no worse for wear. She flipped it open to check the inner pages. Her mom and dad’s smiling faces were looking up from the plastic pocket that held the carefully crafted page. She brought her hand to her chest and let out a breath of relief. She heard a gasp from behind her. Lilliane turned towards it and saw Yuki who was unnervingly still behind her. His eyebrows were raised high on his forehead, his eyes were wide, and his hands covered his slightly open mouth.

“Yuki? Are you alr-” he cut her off.

“How do you know him?” he pointed a shaking hand to the picture of her parents.

“Oh, he’s my dad.” Lillianne responded, confused.

“Dad? Your biological dad?” Lillianne was getting a bit freaked out.

“Yeah...” Lillianne said in a questioning voice.

“You’re sure?” Lillianne nodded “Absolutely?”

“Yes!” she snapped. “Why?!”

“What is his name?” Yuki pushed.

“Aloysisus. What’s wrong?”

“Where is he? Can you contact him?”

Lillianne slumped. “He’s dead.”

Yuki’s face fell. “Dead?”

Lillianne frowned. “Yeah, my Aunt says, said, they died in a car crash. A long time ago...”

Yuki turned and muttered into his hands, “Aloysisus what have you done?”

“Did you know my dad?”

Yuki turned to her again. “Yes, I didn’t know he had passed, but he can’t have died in a car crash. It isn’t possible!” His eyes were darting around the room.

“Why not?”

“He just… I mean….” he ran his hands through his hair and then stood straight, determination on his face. “Because he wasn’t human!”

“What?” Lillianne was momentarily shocked. Then a fire rose up in her. “Why would you make fun of me like this?! Are you trying to kick me while I’m down?! Is that it?!” She shook her fists at him and lunged at him but he didn’t move.

“I am not lying.” his voice was even,and quiet. It caused Lillianne to pause. “I can prove it.” he continued. Her eyes narrowed at him.

“How?”

“Look into my eyes,” Yuki leaned forward staring deep into her eyes. “Look close.” She peered into his eyes, squinting.

“I don’t- Oh! Your pupils!” His pupils weren’t round. They were diamonds! With rounded edges but they were diamonds. “I don’t understand. My dad was…. Whatever you are?” This was crazy. He couldn’t mean this.

“Yes”

“That means…” Lillianne was shaking.

“You’re half of what I am too.” Yuki finishes.

“What are you then? What am I?” Lilliane’s brown eyes began to well up with tears. “I don’t understand.” How could this be? No, she thought a bit desperately.

Yuki’s face softened. “It’ll be okay. I’ll explain it to you.”

Molnia who had been standing in the doorway watching spoke up. “Shenandoah won’t be pleased.” Yuki startled.

“She is never happy anyway.” He turned and looked and the white part of the house. Then he turned to Lillianne and put his hand over hers and closed her scrapbook, pushing it towards her. “Let’s leave. Grab anything you need and meet me outside. We need to leave soon. It isn’t good to have the police showing up while we’re here.”

Lillianne couldn’t help the desperate sad sound that rose up from her throat. “What I am going to do?” She blinked the tears away. “I don’t have anyone.” Yuki pulled her into his chest, hugging her tightly.

“You have me. I won’t abandon you.” Lillianne hugged him back, grateful to be able to hold onto someone. She pulled back wiping her eyes.

“I’ll get my things.” Lillianne said. Yuki nodded and smiled.

“I’ll be outside.” he turned away walking towards Molnia, who was looking at him incredulously. Lillianne darted up the stairs that had been spared the white that most of the rest of the house had been hit with. She could hear Molnia and Yuki talking in hushed tones. Molnia was obviously not pleased. Lillianne stopped short. Her room had been turned completely white. She took a cautious step onto the white floor and heard it crack under her feet but it didn’t give way. She edged forward cautiously wincing at every cracking sound. She reached forward to pick up her favorite, once pink dress, from the floor but it crumbled to dust in her hand. She felt tears sting her eyes once again. Why could nothing go right? Nothing in her room was salvageable. In her arms she clutched her scrapbook tighter. It was all she had. Except for Yuki she supposed but she barely knew him. She felt though that she could trust him. She slipped out of her room carefully and nearly went through the floor in the entrance to her room but caught herself on the floor outside the room. Stumbling down the stairs she tried to pull herself together. She exited the front door to see Yuki talking to Molnia and another man with deep brown skin. He stood tall over both Molnia and Yuki. Though Molnia was bigger than Yuki as well. Lillianne cautiously walked towards them. The new man turned to her with bright green eyes.

“You look terrible.” was the first thing he said to her. Yuki came to her defense immediately.

“Hu! That is awful! She’s had a terrible day!” Hu looked apologetic and smiled/grimaced at Lillianne. Molnia was laughing behind her hands and Yuki glared at her. She put her hands up in surrender and turned away and began walking towards the road.

“Sorry” Hu apologized in a deep rich voice. “I am Hu.” He put his hand out. Lillianne said nothing and ignored his hand, unwilling to forgive him.

“Where are your things?” questioned Yuki.

“It’s gone.” Lillianne sighed. “It’s all white and it falls apart in my hands.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry Lillianne.” He turned to Hu. “Let’s find a place to stay. Maybe Shenandoah can lend Lillianne some clothes.”

Hu snorted. “She’ll never do that.” he said matter of factly.

“Maybe Molnia then.” Lillianne knew that they’d be huge on her but she didn’t care at this point. She just wanted to be out of these bloody clothes. Yuki tucked his arm around hers and led her towards the road, Hu in tow. They walked past some tall corn and it was then that Lillianne saw Molnia and another woman leaning against an SUV. The other woman was difficult to see in detail since, in spite of the heat, she was wearing a long cloak with a hood up. Lillianne could barely see her black hair peeking out. Her skin was a rich copper brown color and her eyes were a striking purple color. Lillianne had thought that Yuki was beautiful but this woman made Yuki look almost plain in comparison. She thought that until the woman noticed her. Her eyebrows drew together, nose scrunched, lips curled. She turned to Yuki.

“Why on earth would you bring it here? Are you bringing it with us?” her voice was cold.

“Shenandoah, I don’t care what you say. I believe it’s imperative that she comes with us.” Shenandoah snorted and covered her face further with her hood. “Don’t come crying to me when it dies then.” She walked to the driver side of the SUV and got in the passenger door and crawled to the farthest back seats and sat down with a huff. Molnia rolled her eyes and got into the same door that Shenandoah had but remained in the first row. Hu got in behind the passenger seat. Lillianne stood in shock. She already felt a little raw emotionally and Shenandoah’s response had shook her. Yuki placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“Don’t listen to Shenandoah. Age has turned her cranky. Why don’t you sit in the front with me?” She nodded a bit numbly and let him help her into the vehicle. He jogged around the SUV and hopped into the driver's seat. He turned it on and started heading down the road away from her childhood home. Yuki turned on the radio but otherwise it was quiet. Lillianne sat alone with her thoughts and wanted nothing more than to wake from this nightmare. She knew, though, that there was no way this was going to happen. After about 15 minutes her eyes began to droop. She desperately tried to stay awake, not wanting to know what her dreams would bring but she could not keep her eyes open. As she drifted off she heard Molnia.

“Shenandoah, have some mercy on the poor girl.” She heard Shenandoah sigh and crawl forward. Then Lillianne was sleeping.


	3. It's Time to Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes bravery is pointless.

Lillianne was shaken awake by Hu some time later. As she blearily examined her surroundings, she noticed Molnia loitering in front of the motel door. Yuki and Shenandoah were nowhere to be seen.   
“It’s time to get to the shower.” Hu stated, shaking her lightly. “You stink.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “I’m sure you smell just fine normally though.”   
The blunt commentary caused laughter to rise out of Lillianne’s mouth. “Yeah, I don’t smell or look this bad normally.” Hu glanced downward, seeming embarrassed before speaking again.   
“Yuki says I am rude and that I’ve been living with the trees too long.”   
“I’d say he’s probably right,” she stated solemnly and then giggled a bit. “I’m kidding. At least you’re trying.” Lillianne went to step out of the SUV, faltering as her legs gave out. Suddenly the ground seemed a bit closer than normal, but Hu was easily able to catch her before she could hurt herself too badly. Noticing how she was cradled in Hu’s arms, Lillianne’s cheeks deepened slightly in color.  
“I’ve got it,” she mumbled.   
“No, let me carry you.” Hu grinned at her, pulling her close to his chest. If possible, Lillianne’s cheeks got even redder. “Molnia!” he called out as he strolled towards the motel door. The siren rolled her eyes at him but opened the door, gesturing him inside with a flourish.   
The room was very dark and run down, but the beds looked like heaven to Lillianne. But before she could finally get some decent sleep, she desperately needed a shower. Hu apparently agreed, because he strolled right to the bathroom. He gently placed her on the toilet seat and smiled at her.   
“Do you need any more help?”   
“No!” Lillianne exclaimed quickly, heat flushing her cheeks. It was a spectacular display of how out of touch Hu could be at times. The siren in question nodded and waved his hand to her as he walked out. He stopped halfway through closing the door.   
“Just let me know if you need anything.” His smile faded and his eyebrows sunk low. “Even if it’s to talk.” And with that, he closed the door before Lillianne could answer. Lillianne sighed and hunched down, curling her legs up and resting her head on her knees. She was overwhelmed and out of her depth. She had trusted Yuki right away, which, thinking back, was really, really stupid. She didn’t know him or what he was about. He was a different species? Was she really remembering that right? She began to slowly peel away her clothes, cringing at the smell that seemed to rise up from moving them. These needed to be burned. She got up cautiously, very aware of the weakness that had come over her previously, but she seemed stable now.   
She turned on the shower and hopped right in. It didn’t matter to her that the water was bone-chillingly cold. Lillianne sunk to the floor of the shower and hugged her knees while letting the water flow over her.   
How could she be so stupid? So-, so naive? What was she going to do now? She just went with these strangers because… Because what? The whole thing was so out of character for her. Apparently shock made her do inadvisable things. The thought almost made her smile at the ridiculousness of it, but a slamming noise startled her out of her thoughts. Shenandoah’s voice rang through the door but the words were garbled. Lillianne could only hear bits and pieces.   
“That girl…dangerous…going to do,” was all she could pick up through the water and the closed door of the bathroom. Then the door slammed again and she heard Molnia murmuring. She could hear nothing but the running water hitting her body..   
Lillianne psyched herself up. She was going to leave. There was no way that she would allow herself to be murdered by some crazy people. Then she heard a soft knock on the bathroom door which made her jump more than she’d like to admit.   
Yuki’s voice carried through the door. “I’ve got some clothes for you. I was able to convince Shenandoah to give up an outfit for you to wear.” He said Shenandoah’s name with a bitter undertone.   
“Oh, thank you” Lillianne responded. Her voice was high pitched and jittery.   
“Shall I put them on the counter then?”  
“Oh, I mean, yeah!” Lillianne stumbled through her response. She rolled her eyes at herself. How was she supposed to make a daring escape if she couldn’t even form a coherent response?  
“Are you... alright?” Yuki asked, caution creeping into his tone.  
Lillianne took a deep breath, trying to even her tone. “Yeah, I’m just a bit overwhelmed right now.”  
“Ok then.” Yuki still sounded concerned but was edging his way into the bathroom. Lillianne peeked out of the curtain to look at him. He was facing away from her, his body was half in and his arm was blindly reaching for the counter with a bundle of black fabric in his hand. He dropped the clothes and they promptly rolled into the sink. “Oh, shit,” he muttered and shuffled them back up onto the counter with one hand. “Let me know if you need anything.” he said in a voice way too strained to truly come across as chipper.   
“I will.” Lillianne responded and watched as Yuki closed the door slowly and quietly. She sighed and grabbed one of the little bottles that were lined up on the edge of the tub. She opened the cap with a snap and sniffed the bottle cautiously. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. It was supposed to be ocean breeze but it definitely smelled more like cleaner. Well, it was better than smelling like brains, blood, and sweat. A quiet laugh finally escaped her but it had a hysterical tone. She was losing it. Tears pricked her eyes and she shook her head vigorously. She didn’t have time to cry! She was going to leave and she needed to do it now while she still had the nerve. She dumped the entire tiny bottle of shampoo into her hand and washed her hair with vigor. She finished her shower in record time. Normally she was a notoriously long shower taker. She dried off with what she firmly believed was the scratchiest towel that was ever created, wincing as it seemed to take skin off as well as water.  
She pulled the clothes from the counter to inspect them. There was a pair of black skinny jeans, which she was thankful seemed small enough for her. The shirt was long sleeved and elegant, subtly layered with lace and floral patterns. There was also a black sports bra and a pair of very lacy underwear that sported a little bow on the front. They still had tags on them which led her to believe that Shenandoah and Yuki had been buying her underwear. The image of grim faced Shenandoah and cheery Yuki at a lingerie store carefully selecting underwear together made her snort with laughter.   
She shimmied on the underwear and jeans. The pants were still a little too big but they didn’t seem to want to fall off so Lillianne considered that a win. The sports bra and shirt were looser. They had been worn by someone with a far bigger chest than her but they worked. She stopped, staring at her bare feet. She hadn’t been wearing shoes and they didn’t give her any. Her grand escape would have to occur barefoot. She took a deep breath and tried to think of what she could say to get out of the motel room. She needed her scrapbook, that was something that she was unwilling to leave behind but everything else was expendable. The clothes that she had been wearing, she dumped in the garbage. Those could not be saved. She tightened her fist and nodded to herself. Just tell them you need your book and leave she thought, trying to build her courage. With that she walked out of the bathroom accidently slamming the door into the wall. Three startled pairs of eyes turned to face her.   
“Oh, sorry.” she muttered. Her cheeks rosy. “I didn’t think it would swing so easy. They must really keep up on maintenance.” she laughed weakly. Hu and Molnia both seemed to accept this explanation because they turned back to the rerun of Titanic that they were watching. Yuki though, rose to his feet and walked up to her.   
“How about you get some rest?” he suggested softly. Lillianne said nothing for a moment, completely forgetting everything she had planned under Yuki’s kind eyes. “It’ll be okay,” Yuki continued, his eyes and face were soft and inviting. “Shenandoah, is scouting outside right now. She may be a bit….” he paused. “Anti social but she is reliable.” Lillianne felt her mind jump start.   
“Oh, yes, I am sure.” she said quickly. “I just want to grab my scrapbook from the car. Is it open?” She was trying her very best to sound not at all suspicious and she was very sure that she was failing but Yuki just smiled a bit.  
“It is open but I’ll go with you!” His enthusiasm almost made it hard to say no, but Lilliane forced herself to stay on track.   
“Oh no, I can go myself.” She stumbled over her words once again.   
“It’s not a problem. I wouldn’t want you to be alone.” Yuki moved towards the door.   
“No!” Lillianne blurted out, panicked. Yuki jumped a bit. Thinking quickly, she added, “I just need a few minutes to myself. It’s been a pretty crappy couple of days.” Yuki nodded in understanding.  
“Sorry, take all the time you need.” Yuki’s eyes were a bit watery looking. Lillianne felt a twinge of guilt, but she needed to get back home.   
“Thanks” she murmured, and headed out the door.   
The SUV sat non-threateningly in the parking spot right in front of the motel room’s door. Lillianne shuffled forward, a bit thrown off by Yuki’s kindness and concern. She shook her head a bit, trying to snap out of her reluctance. God did she hope that the door was actually unlocked; because if it wasn’t she might never leave these strange people she found herself with. Luckily, the door opened with ease. There, on the floor of the vehicle, sat her scrapbook. It’s blue cover was splotched with brown-red of drying blood where she had clutched it to her chest. She pulled it to herself gingerly. It was the only thing of hers that she had left. Her eyes started to burn, but she gritted her teeth to try and stop the tears from coming. She closed the SUV door quietly as not to alert the people, she guessed, in the motel room. The curtains were closed, but she could see the flicker of light from the TV. No one seemed to be peeking out at her so now was her chance. The motel was surrounded by fields on one side and woods on the other. The woods was the direction from which they came, so that was where she needed to go. It was dark, which would be harder for her but harder for them as well. She wasn’t looking forward to traversing the woods barefoot; but if the damp ground was any indication, it had been raining and she hoped that the softer wet ground would be more forgiving. She jogged lightly towards the road to get around the motel and was stopped in her tracks at the edge of the road by a tall figure wrapped in a black cloak.  
“Excuse me…” she tried  
“I don’t think so.” A deep, rich voice flowed from beneath the hood of the cloak. Shenandoah, she thought miserably. Purple eyes peered out at her from the cowl. Lillianne assumed that she was angry, if her drawn together eyebrows were any indication, but the rest of her face was covered. “Why don’t I escort you back to the motel room since you seem to have lost your way?” The tone of Shenandoah’s voice made it very clear that she knew Lillianne was leaving. White hot fury snapped through Lillianne’s body.   
“Why do you even care?!” she yelled, crowding into Shenandoah’s personal space. “It’s not like you want me here!”  
“You’re right, I don’t.” Her response was cold as she leaned further into Lillianne’s space, forcing her to move back lest they be pressed together. “But I don’t really desire to go hunting you down either. Yuki will never be happy just letting you leave. You are an enigma and no yelling or logic on my part seems to dissuade him, so you will stay.” The fury inside of Lilliane seemed to grow hotter, if possible..   
The next words she spoke seemed to be pushed from her body like a burst from a volcano. “How dare you?! I can and will make my own choices. I am not going to be kidnapped by crazy people!” Her body shook with the force of her anger.   
Shenandoah laughed. “Crazy, are we,” her voice seemed to have an edge of dark amusement to it as she leaned over Lillianne, making it clear who the bigger person was. Why is that?”   
Startled, Lillianne gave the truth. “You claim to be another species. That’s… insane.”   
“Oh?” Shenandoah laughed again. “Is that so?” The taller woman stepped back and lifted her hands ever so slowly to her hood. She pushed down the cowl that was wrapped around her lower face, revealing her smirking lips. Then she pulled back her hood. Instantly, she lit up in swirling, thin patterns across her entire face and neck. They glowed softly and made her eyes look even more inhuman.   
Terror gripped Lillianne. She wasn’t human. They weren’t human. They weren’t lying. She let out a small whimper of alarm as Shenandoah reached her gloved hand in the direction of her arm.   
“Let’s head back.” she said, amusement briefly coloring her voice. The casual tone brought Lillianne out of her shock. Without thinking, she swung her scrapbook into Shenandoah’s face as hard as she could. Lilianne watched in horror as Shenandoah toppled backwards. Shenandoah’s eyes were wide with surprise and her mouth opened in shock for a brief second before she toppled down into a ditch on the side of the road. The slick grass and mud of the ditch made a squishing sound as Shenandoah landed. Panicked, Lillianne darted towards the woods as fast as she could. She could hear Shenandoah swearing behind her but didn’t hear her follow. That didn’t matter. Lillianne wasn’t going to stop until she couldn’t run anymore. She ran until her legs started cramping, numb from shock and fear. A branch in her path tripped her up, nearly ending with her face on the ground. Her legs and lungs were burning. Her feet were stinging and her face was wet with tears. Lilianne lay there, gasping for breath. She hiccuped out a sob and rubbed her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Ugh, now her sleeve was covered in snot. She was already beginning to get cold and she had no idea where she was. Her hand felt super stiff as it was clutching her scrapbook. Lillianne looked down and let out another weak sob. The cover was bent horribly from hitting Shenandoah. She clutched the book desperately to her chest. The one thing she had left from her old life and she had ruined it in anger.   
Lilianne peered out around herself seeing nothing. There was no indication of where she was. Stupid, she was stupid. How could she think that she could handle something like this on her own? Tears flowed in rivers down her face. She needed something to comfort her, something to ease the ache in her heart. Her hands shook as she opened the scrapbook which held nothing but empty plastic pockets where the carefully made pages should have been. She stared in shock. They were gone, all her memories, the only picture of her parents gone. She sobbed, and yelled throwing the book aside and burying her face in her knees.   
She sat for a long time crying in despair. Suddenly, something fluffy was thrown onto her shoulders. She shrieked as her vision was covered by darkness.   
“You’re an idiot,” came a voice from behind her. She lifted up what she realized was a blanket and turned to see Shenandoah standing there. Half of her face was smeared with dried mud, which made her irritated look all the funnier. Lillianne let out a weak laugh. She was just happy to see someone familiar. She really was an idiot. Shenandoah’s face softened. “I apologize for scaring you. I am told that I am thoughtless quite often.”  
Lillianne said nothing for a moment. She looked down at the blanket around her and then back up at Shenandoah, who didn’t seem concerned whether Lillianne would forgive her or not. “How did you find me?” she asked instead of accepting her apology. “Did you track my footprints or something?” Shenandoah frowned.   
“And why do you think I could do that?” she asked her voice a bit tight.   
“Oh, I...don’t know. I just thought….”  
“You just thought, ‘Hey she looks Native American I bet she can track dumb white girls through the forest.’” Lillianne blushed, embarrassed.   
“Sorry, that was insensitive of me. I didn’t really mean it like that.”  
Shenandoah sighed before accepting her apology. “It’s fine. Just try not to make presumptions. I’m not even really a human so I don’t think you would be able to make any true judgements anyway. It was these that led me to you.” She dug into her cloak and shifted a black, rough messenger bag forward. She flipped open the flap and carefully pulled out a stack of thick paper. Carefully and between both hands she held them out to Lillianne. Lillianne gasped when she caught sight of them. They were her scrapbook pages. They looked a bit damp and bent around the edges but, overall, safe. She sniffled and looked up at Shenandoah.   
“Thank you,” she murmured weakly. “You didn’t have to pick them up and you did and….” She was crying again. Shenandoah shrugged at her and looked uncomfortable, clearly out of place.   
“Are you going to come back with me?” she suddenly asked.   
“I thought you were going to force me to anyway?” Lillianne questioned cautiously. This was a sudden change of pace from how Shenandoah had acted before. She wasn’t sure where this was leading but didn’t, no, couldn’t trust her.   
“Well, I would rather not kidnap you. Yuki can go straight to hell if he thinks that we should force you to go with us.” Shenandoah looked sincere as far as Lillianne could tell. The despair and panic that had consumed her before had died down and now she was just tired. “But I will tell you that you are the first lead we’ve had in some time. This light isn’t a joke. It’s killed many of us. Your aunt is one victim of tens of thousands that we know of. It would be….” Shenandoah paused. “Difficult for me to let you leave knowing that the key could be walking away.” Lillianne was torn. She could return home but to what? A crumbling house and a dead body? Shenandoah seemed to her to be the scariest of the group and she had come after her and helped her even after she had hit her in the face. She had even retrieved the scrapbook pages that she had come across and kept them safe for her. What was the point of running anyway? These beings would find her. If they killed her what would it matter? No one but them would even miss her. She looked at Shenandoah again just as a beam of moonlight shifted onto her face and the marks lit up again. Not where the mud was but the other parts of her skin, even her ears.   
“O-okay” she stuttered a bit, having been reminded of the inhumanness of it all. “Okay, I’ll go back with you.” Shenandoah nodded and placed the scrapbook pages back into her bag which she tucked back into her cloak. She reached for Lillianne’s hands to help her up. Lillianne grasped her hands and began to rise, only to collapse as burning pain ran through her feet. Shenandoah knelt down.   
“Let me see.” Lillianne raised a foot reluctantly towards her. Shenandoah made a tsking sound. “They’re torn up. Though, it seems mostly superficial.” She then bodily wrapped Lillianne in the blanket, tucking the bent scrapbook into her hands and lifted her from the ground like she weighed nothing. Lillianne gave a startled cry and clutched at Shenandoah’s shoulders nearly losing the scrapbook in the process.  
“What are you doing?!” she yelped, panic rushing through her.  
“You’re not going to be walking like this, so I am carrying you.”  
“How are you going to carry me the whole way back?!” Lillianne asked, alarmed. Shenandoah was built bigger than her but to carry her who knows how long would be crazy.   
“You only got about a mile away.” Shenandoah stated plainly. “And we’re stronger than you humans.” With that she began she let go of Lillianne’s legs and tucked her cowl and hood up with one hand. She then readjusted Lillianne’s legs back into her grip and launched forward into a run. Lillianne gripped Shenandoah’s shoulders, digging her fingers in to get a good hold. The ride was quick, at least quicker than Lillianne expected it to be at any rate. Suddenly they were at the edge of the woods and she heard someone calling her name. Yuki, she thought. Did he not know where she was? That Shenandoah had come after her? Shenandoah strutted forward at a leisurely pace, making her way around the motel. Then, she saw Yuki. He was standing in the middle of the parking lot turning his head every which way. He seemed to hear Shenandoah quite quickly and turned towards them both. His eyebrows rose in surprise and he darted forward to reach them.   
“What happened?!” he exclaimed advancing quickly toShenandoah and Lillianne.   
“Just an accident.” Shenandoah said airily. Yuki frowned at her.   
“Oh, really?” He responded, the words leaving his mouth very slowly.  
“Yes” Shenandoah responded. Yuki raised an eyebrow and turned toward Lillianne. She tried to huddle down into Shenandoah’s arms, away from Yuki knowing she couldn’t lie.  
“What she said.” Lillianne said to him not looking into his eyes. Yuki sighed, slumping his shoulders.   
“Very well,” he said airily, clearly trying not to show how much the situation bothered him. Lillianne felt a twinge of guilt.   
“Lillianne and I both are going to need a shower.” Shenandoah announced.   
“Yes, I can see that.” Yuki said with a slight upturn of his lips.  
“Lillianne also needs some first aid on her feet.” Shenandoah said with the same casual tone as her first statement. Yuki was not so unconcerned.  
“What?!” he cried out. “Let me see!” Lillianne hid her face into Shenandoah’s shoulder. She was upset. She didn’t want to feel like attacked like this. Shenandoah shifted her slightly and began to walk past Yuki.   
“Let’s go inside.” Shenandoah stated. “You can bandage her up there.” She then strolled forward at a steady pace with Lillianne still in her arms. Yuki was still radiating a palpable anxious energy as he trailed behind her. As the walked in Molnia and Hu looked up from what they were watching. Molnia burst out in laughter.  
“Shenandoah! Your face!” Shenandoah rolled her eyes and strode past her, placing Lillianne on a discolored chair. She perched in front of her and patted her knees.  
“Up” Lillianne hesitantly placed her cut feet onto Shenandoah’s knees. Shenandoah peered at them carefully and then jabbed on finger into the arch of her foot.   
“OUCH!” shrieked Lillianne.   
“Sorry.” said Shenandoah very unconvincingly. Lillianne was sure that she had done that on purpose. Yuki’s eyes narrowed at Shenandoah. He moved towards her trying to shuffle Shenandoah out of the way.   
“Just let me do it.” Shenandoah shrugged and moved out of the way. Yuki cradled Lillianne’s foot gently in his hand. “I am going to have to pick debris out of your foot…” Yuki was frowning at her, his eyebrows sinking over his eyes. The next hour or so was a test of Lillianne’s patience. Yuki painstakingly picked out each tiny bit out of her foot. When he was done, she fell asleep nearly immediately. Images swirled haphazardly in her dreams causing her to not sleep soundly but she wasn’t woken till morning.


End file.
